All those things were running through my head as I shot a gun for the first time in my life.

I spent Thursday morning on a piece of property behind Ashby's stock farm with Ashby police Detective John Dillon, who teaches a firearms safety course, to learn about just what it's like to shoot a firearm.

Nationally, there has been an outcry over gun laws and gun control since last month's school shooting in Newton, Conn., that left 26 people dead, plus the gunman and his mother.

Dillon walked me through his standard operating and safety procedures he goes through with any person taking his course.

One of the most important things he teaches any student, he said, is the proper shooting platform, which includes the proper stance with your knees bent and leaning into the shot, the proper grip with your hands clasped under the barrel of the gun, lining the gun up with the target, and trigger control.

"All of these things have to work together or it's a lost cause," he said.

He also promotes the mantra "off range, off trigger," meaning if you are not actively shooting toward the intended target, your finger should be resting on the top of the barrel, not in the trigger.

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Instinctively, my right index finger, or trigger finger, went to the trigger anytime the gun was in my hands, which is actually a common mistake for beginners.

It's all about muscle memory, he said, by constantly doing the same skill over and over again.

Dillon declined to comment on whether he thought it was a good idea for teachers and volunteers to be armed in schools, saying ultimately, in the end for him, anyone who is able and willing to learn how to shoot a gun can -- and it should be done in a safe manner, regardless of where they are.

In the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, the National Rifle Association has called for more security in school buildings by arming trained volunteers in the school's with guns in case a situation were to arise.

In a press conference last month shortly after the Connecticut massacre, the group's top lobbyist Wayne LaPierre said that the next Adam Lanza, the man responsible for last month's mayhem, is planning an attack on another school.

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," he said during a press conference in Washington.

LaPierre blamed video games, music and movies for exposing children to a violent culture in this day and age, according to the Associated Press.

"In a race to the bottom, many conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate and offend every standard of civilized society, by bringing an even more toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty right into our homes," he said.

His plan of action to avoid that, he said during the press conference, is to develop an NRA program that will develop a model security plan for schools that relies on armed volunteers.

Many states across the country, including Michigan, have proposed taking it one step further and arming teachers with guns in their classrooms.

Some organizations, however, believe that arming volunteers and school staff is not the answer to what appears to be a growing epidemic nationwide.

In a Dec. 16 letter to the governor of Michigan, the American Federation of Teachers spoke out against guns in schools, saying that is not the answer to the Newtown shooting.

"Firearms have absolutely no place in our schools -- the Dec. 14, 2012, tragic massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., is a chilling and heartbreaking reminder of that," Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, wrote.

President Barack Obama has said he wants proposals to end gun violence that he can take to Congress this month. He has already asked Congress to reinstate an assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 and pass legislation that would stop people from purchasing firearms from private sellers without a background check, according to the Associated Press.

The president has also indicated he would like to see Congress pursue the possibility of limiting high-capacity magazines.

Leominster police Sgt. Charles Doherty, who is certified to teach a similar class as Dillon, said that while he's unsure whether it would be a good idea for teachers to be armed, it wouldn't surprise him if school staff wanted to be armed.

"I can't speak for the schools directly but I would guess there may be a few people in each school who may be interested. I think it should be a personal choice, not mandated by the school," he said. "Safety is the most important thing here. If firearms are misused or not handled properly, they can lead to very tragic consequences."

Going into my lesson with Detective Dillon, I thought I would be a natural at landing all of my shots on the target setup. I couldn't have been further from the truth.

Standing feet from the target with the .22 caliber semiautomatic handgun in my hands was an eye-opening but exhilarating experience. With each shot, 10 in all, I strained to do better and better. Some shots were better than others, but at the end, I failed to snare the elusive bull's-eye straight down the middle of the target, a mere 15 feet away.

Throughout I was nervous. I could feel my hands shaking slightly as I ran through the mental checklist I needed to remember. With every shot I took, I could feel my entire body tense up. I couldn't get the thought out of my head that my shots could seriously injure, if not kill, someone had they been my intended target.

It made me realize that if teachers or volunteers were to ever have handguns in schools, they must become proficient in using them before they ever had them in a classroom.

It makes sense to me to learn the proper way to use them if, and when, they're ever put into the hands of someone determined to protect a school-aged child.

While this week's shooting lesson hasn't changed my mind about ever wanting to own a gun in the future, it did make me realize how much goes into handling and shooting a firearm, and the dire consequences that could arise if not handled properly.

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